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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · bulb · current · club · pitcher · spell · kid · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. current — electric
  8. club — for golf
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — farmland
  12. current — happening now
  13. spell — magic
  14. current — of water
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. club — a group
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com